WEBVTT 00:00:01.679 --> 00:00:05.580 Welcome to NECF. We're thrilled you're here. 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:09.339 Make sure to stay with us till the end, where 00:00:09.339 --> 00:00:12.179 we'll share some great resources to deepen your 00:00:12.179 --> 00:00:16.199 faith. Now, let's dive into this week's sermon. 00:00:21.579 --> 00:00:25.780 And to start the teaching, the topic is actually 00:00:25.780 --> 00:00:30.320 ministers of God. Ministers of God. manifesting 00:00:30.320 --> 00:00:32.960 the kingdom of God. Ministers of God manifesting 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:36.759 the kingdom of God. Ministers of God manifesting 00:00:36.759 --> 00:00:39.740 the kingdom of God. And while Pastor Kostin was 00:00:39.740 --> 00:00:42.159 speaking, I think something dropped in my heart 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:48.560 and he re -echoed it. While the teaching is going 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:51.299 on, we're going to see, we're going to, those 00:00:51.299 --> 00:00:56.479 of us that are open will hear and receive instructions. 00:00:57.479 --> 00:00:59.759 It's going to be very prophetic and there's going 00:00:59.759 --> 00:01:02.659 to be direction as we're listening to what God 00:01:02.659 --> 00:01:05.319 is going to be communicating to us. I want you 00:01:05.319 --> 00:01:08.739 to posture yourself to receive. There's a posturing 00:01:08.739 --> 00:01:11.480 that you take to receive. There's a posturing 00:01:11.480 --> 00:01:13.519 that you take to receive. And it's very important 00:01:13.519 --> 00:01:16.920 that you don't miss out on what God is doing 00:01:16.920 --> 00:01:20.700 in this season, in this church. And please let 00:01:20.700 --> 00:01:26.400 your phones not rob you of the opportunity that 00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:30.379 you have. to learn. Let your phone not rob you 00:01:30.379 --> 00:01:34.319 of the opportunity that you have to learn. To 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:36.719 start off, I want to ask a question. I want you 00:01:36.719 --> 00:01:40.459 to just, I know many of us can relate. How many 00:01:40.459 --> 00:01:44.219 of you walked into a room and you walked into 00:01:44.219 --> 00:01:48.120 the room having something in mind to pick? Like 00:01:48.120 --> 00:01:50.159 you went to get something from the room and then 00:01:50.159 --> 00:01:52.420 it's almost like you walk into the room and then 00:01:52.420 --> 00:01:55.780 you... Almost cannot remember what you came in 00:01:55.780 --> 00:01:57.120 for. How many of you have had that experience? 00:01:58.280 --> 00:02:01.439 A couple. Some of you, you're very... Okay, I 00:02:01.439 --> 00:02:03.400 think this one, the next one is very relatable. 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:06.420 Where you picked up your phone, you knew what 00:02:06.420 --> 00:02:07.620 you were going to do when you picked up your 00:02:07.620 --> 00:02:11.400 phone. Then after 20 minutes, you're watching 00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:15.620 videos. You knew. You picked it up, let me reply, 00:02:15.860 --> 00:02:18.909 or let me... I think I remember my... mom or 00:02:18.909 --> 00:02:21.310 my dad called me and I said okay let me reply 00:02:21.310 --> 00:02:24.729 or let me and then all of a sudden 20 minutes 00:02:24.729 --> 00:02:29.009 later and sometimes you can't even remember in 00:02:29.009 --> 00:02:31.210 fact you have it's after 20 minutes you remember 00:02:31.210 --> 00:02:33.770 why you picked your phone in the first place 00:02:33.770 --> 00:02:38.110 and what that communicates to us and it's not 00:02:38.110 --> 00:02:41.229 just mobile phones or coming to the room and 00:02:41.229 --> 00:02:42.830 forgetting what that communicates to us is that 00:02:42.830 --> 00:02:46.400 we have a tendency to be distracted right We 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:48.219 have a tendency to be distracted, and it's not 00:02:48.219 --> 00:02:51.539 only in the things that we want to do at the 00:02:51.539 --> 00:02:54.240 moment. We can also be distracted in the things 00:02:54.240 --> 00:02:56.659 that God has called us to do. We can be distracted 00:02:56.659 --> 00:03:01.020 in our own lives, where you're just going, you're 00:03:01.020 --> 00:03:03.139 forgetting. In fact, it's very practical. You 00:03:03.139 --> 00:03:05.819 went to the market. Your goal was to go and buy 00:03:05.819 --> 00:03:08.759 water to drink. All of a sudden, you enter the 00:03:08.759 --> 00:03:12.560 market, and we see you with ice cream. The question 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:17.000 is, what happened? The goal was to get water 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:18.620 to drink to quench your thirst. And then here 00:03:18.620 --> 00:03:20.120 you are with something that will make you go 00:03:20.120 --> 00:03:24.000 back to the market again to get another. And 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:25.819 sometimes you even go to the market and all of 00:03:25.819 --> 00:03:27.479 a sudden you have wandered around the market 00:03:27.479 --> 00:03:29.199 for like 20 minutes and you came out without 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:31.000 the thing you went there for. That's another 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:34.840 category of people. Praise God. So we can. And 00:03:34.840 --> 00:03:39.460 what will help us to check is to ask ourselves 00:03:39.460 --> 00:03:45.370 one very key question. Why am I here? What? am 00:03:45.370 --> 00:03:48.129 i here for i want you to write that down or in 00:03:48.129 --> 00:03:50.509 fact make it more practical turn to the next 00:03:50.509 --> 00:03:58.629 person and ask them why are you here so what 00:03:58.629 --> 00:04:02.110 are you here for some of us are just looking 00:04:02.110 --> 00:04:05.729 at ourselves it's a simple just why you know 00:04:05.729 --> 00:04:08.689 that can you know when the person when someone 00:04:08.689 --> 00:04:10.430 tells me they're going to the market to get water 00:04:10.430 --> 00:04:12.150 and they come out without the water i'll ask 00:04:12.150 --> 00:04:15.780 them right I've asked them, where is the water? 00:04:16.379 --> 00:04:19.699 Right? And you're asking that question so that 00:04:19.699 --> 00:04:27.459 the individual can reflect on why it is that 00:04:27.459 --> 00:04:29.560 they're here. Because it's going to tell them 00:04:29.560 --> 00:04:34.199 how they do the things that they do in church. 00:04:35.079 --> 00:04:37.100 You know, if you were here for the service, you 00:04:37.100 --> 00:04:38.459 wouldn't be pressing your phone while the service 00:04:38.459 --> 00:04:42.300 is going on. Right? And this is for some of us 00:04:42.300 --> 00:04:45.620 that are in service and you're not in service. 00:04:46.579 --> 00:04:48.519 Some people have the ability to be in two places 00:04:48.519 --> 00:04:50.620 at the same time. Some people can be in multiple 00:04:50.620 --> 00:04:52.139 places at the same time. I think there's a word 00:04:52.139 --> 00:04:55.459 for that, multi -taxing. Right? But know that 00:04:55.459 --> 00:04:57.740 if you want to get something done, yeah, multi 00:04:57.740 --> 00:05:00.180 -taxing has its place. Some of us are struggling 00:05:00.180 --> 00:05:02.000 with multi -taxing. Some of us do it professionally 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:04.319 very well. But you are not going to be as effective 00:05:04.319 --> 00:05:06.699 as you will be when you focus on one tax. Some 00:05:06.699 --> 00:05:08.519 people have the ability to focus on multi -tax 00:05:08.519 --> 00:05:12.170 and they will argue that. If you are going to 00:05:12.170 --> 00:05:13.810 the market to buy several things, you have to 00:05:13.810 --> 00:05:17.790 have a list. Even on that list, you have what's 00:05:17.790 --> 00:05:20.290 the first, what's the second. In fact, when your 00:05:20.290 --> 00:05:23.550 money is not enough, you stop after you've gotten 00:05:23.550 --> 00:05:26.430 the most important. Praise God. So it means that 00:05:26.430 --> 00:05:31.129 for us as believers, we have to focus or pay 00:05:31.129 --> 00:05:34.970 attention to what is most important. And sometimes 00:05:34.970 --> 00:05:37.290 we can say this is the most important and we're 00:05:37.290 --> 00:05:40.180 doing something else. Hence, we have to keep 00:05:40.180 --> 00:05:42.600 checking and asking ourselves this key question. 00:05:43.079 --> 00:05:47.019 Why am I here? Those of us here in Cyprus, some 00:05:47.019 --> 00:05:49.819 of us were here, we had gotten the degrees, so 00:05:49.819 --> 00:05:53.319 what next? Know that what you are here for or 00:05:53.319 --> 00:05:56.379 when you know what you are here for, it tells 00:05:56.379 --> 00:05:58.680 us the next thing to do. You're not confused 00:05:58.680 --> 00:06:00.740 where to go from here because you know why you 00:06:00.740 --> 00:06:02.139 were here in the first place. You've done it. 00:06:02.899 --> 00:06:05.740 It's done and then you move to the next. And 00:06:05.740 --> 00:06:08.790 I'm saying all of this for us to come to that 00:06:08.790 --> 00:06:11.110 place where, because we're really trusting God 00:06:11.110 --> 00:06:15.589 to help us. To not just be all over the place, 00:06:15.730 --> 00:06:19.110 but to be specific. And in God's word, we find 00:06:19.110 --> 00:06:22.689 that specific thing that we're here for. Amongst 00:06:22.689 --> 00:06:24.910 all the different things, getting a degree, which 00:06:24.910 --> 00:06:26.889 is very beautiful. Some of us have a lot of it. 00:06:26.910 --> 00:06:29.689 Some of us have degrees. But those degrees will 00:06:29.689 --> 00:06:34.649 fade away. Those degrees will fade away. And 00:06:34.649 --> 00:06:36.899 some of us, it's a job. Things are changing. 00:06:38.279 --> 00:06:40.480 There are many things that we're pursuing that 00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:42.519 in the next couple of years, they'll be irrelevant. 00:06:43.939 --> 00:06:48.079 But there's something that will never fade away. 00:06:48.939 --> 00:06:53.300 Scripture says that's the thing that lasts. Praise 00:06:53.300 --> 00:06:57.620 God. That's the thing that lasts. And reorienting 00:06:57.620 --> 00:07:00.339 ourselves and realigning ourselves is very important. 00:07:02.609 --> 00:07:04.949 Reorienting and realigning ourselves is very 00:07:04.949 --> 00:07:07.569 important because that's what keeps us on track. 00:07:08.149 --> 00:07:12.769 And very interestingly, Apostle Paul, in his 00:07:12.769 --> 00:07:17.149 communication, brings that to the church, the 00:07:17.149 --> 00:07:20.129 Corinthian church. Even though that particular 00:07:20.129 --> 00:07:23.610 letter he was writing to the church in Corinth, 00:07:23.649 --> 00:07:25.810 we see that in 2 Corinthians 1 verse 1. Let's 00:07:25.810 --> 00:07:28.990 just go there and see who is addressing the letter 00:07:28.990 --> 00:07:35.870 to 2 Corinthians. 1 verse 1. It says, Paul, an 00:07:35.870 --> 00:07:39.870 apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God and 00:07:39.870 --> 00:07:45.610 Timothy, our brother, to the church of God, which 00:07:45.610 --> 00:07:52.170 is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in 00:07:52.170 --> 00:08:00.930 all Achaia. Praise God. And he goes in verse 00:08:00.930 --> 00:08:04.790 2 to say, grace to you and peace from God our 00:08:04.790 --> 00:08:10.769 Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's go back 00:08:10.769 --> 00:08:18.310 to chapter 6. And then he starts off by saying, 00:08:18.589 --> 00:08:26.470 we then as walkers together with him also plead 00:08:26.470 --> 00:08:30.420 with you. not to receive the grace of God in 00:08:30.420 --> 00:08:34.879 vain. And very quickly, we'll start off by seeing 00:08:34.879 --> 00:08:39.399 two things he communicates. He says, as walkers 00:08:39.399 --> 00:08:42.580 together with him, as walkers together with God. 00:08:43.559 --> 00:08:46.919 And then he says, also plead with you not to 00:08:46.919 --> 00:08:51.500 receive the grace of God in vain. What we're 00:08:51.500 --> 00:08:52.960 going to be doing in today's service is that 00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:55.659 we're going to look at two things. One of it 00:08:55.659 --> 00:08:58.899 is identity. and the second of it is responsibility. 00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:04.039 The first is identity, and the second is responsibility. 00:09:04.480 --> 00:09:06.559 And we're going to see that throughout Scripture, 00:09:06.879 --> 00:09:12.700 those two things work hand in hand. Once you 00:09:12.700 --> 00:09:16.679 identify with something, someone, you have a 00:09:16.679 --> 00:09:19.320 responsibility that follows. First is identity, 00:09:19.580 --> 00:09:22.720 second is responsibility. If you are a student, 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:25.490 you have a responsibility. Yes, you're identified 00:09:25.490 --> 00:09:27.789 as a student, but second, there's a responsibility. 00:09:28.850 --> 00:09:33.389 If you are a believer, that is the start. What 00:09:33.389 --> 00:09:38.389 follows is the responsibility. And what Paul 00:09:38.389 --> 00:09:42.730 communicates in the first line is responsibility. 00:09:42.889 --> 00:09:45.789 Because as walkers, you have a responsibility 00:09:45.789 --> 00:09:50.690 to do what? To walk, right? If you call yourself 00:09:50.690 --> 00:09:52.389 a walker, you have a responsibility to walk, 00:09:52.490 --> 00:09:55.529 right? If you don't walk, what do you now become? 00:09:56.169 --> 00:10:02.590 You say that jobless. If you don't walk, they 00:10:02.590 --> 00:10:09.250 say you don't chop, right? And then he now goes 00:10:09.250 --> 00:10:11.990 further to say, walk as wit, because walk as 00:10:11.990 --> 00:10:17.710 wit. God also plead with you not to receive the 00:10:17.710 --> 00:10:23.750 grace of God in vain. with you not to receive 00:10:23.750 --> 00:10:27.750 the grace of God in vain. The grace of God is 00:10:27.750 --> 00:10:30.490 what we're going to explain further. But we know 00:10:30.490 --> 00:10:34.250 that if you're confused, or if you just are hearing 00:10:34.250 --> 00:10:36.230 that for the first time, or you've heard that 00:10:36.230 --> 00:10:38.850 a lot, that you're not sure exactly what it is, 00:10:39.009 --> 00:10:42.230 we're going to look at it even further. In the 00:10:42.230 --> 00:10:49.649 previous chapter, that is chapters 5. Chapters 00:10:49.649 --> 00:10:59.429 5, I want us to go to Chapters 5, 17. It says, 00:10:59.490 --> 00:11:03.809 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new 00:11:03.809 --> 00:11:08.409 creation. All things have passed away. Behold, 00:11:08.450 --> 00:11:11.730 all things have become new. So note that now, 00:11:11.950 --> 00:11:15.990 the individual that is in Christ has an identity. 00:11:16.250 --> 00:11:18.970 That individual now is identified with Christ, 00:11:19.070 --> 00:11:21.429 establishing the identity. Then what we'll see 00:11:21.429 --> 00:11:24.470 next in 18 now, it's still further explained. 00:11:24.610 --> 00:11:29.070 It said, now all things are of God who has reconciled 00:11:29.070 --> 00:11:32.929 us to himself through Jesus Christ. Now we know 00:11:32.929 --> 00:11:36.250 that this, the agency or the person by which 00:11:36.250 --> 00:11:38.110 this reconciliation happened is through the person 00:11:38.110 --> 00:11:41.669 of Christ Jesus and has given us the ministry 00:11:41.669 --> 00:11:44.269 of reconciliation. Now we know that the ministry 00:11:44.269 --> 00:11:48.049 there is, we know that ministry is work, right? 00:11:48.330 --> 00:11:51.500 It's responsibility. Ministry is responsibility. 00:11:52.120 --> 00:11:56.879 He says, you are now in Christ Jesus, and then 00:11:56.879 --> 00:11:59.960 now you have a responsibility. So it means that 00:11:59.960 --> 00:12:03.840 you have to, you know, we can be walking, right? 00:12:05.019 --> 00:12:07.799 Walking and then there's no sense of responsibility. 00:12:08.120 --> 00:12:11.220 And that is, over time you discover that is useless 00:12:11.220 --> 00:12:13.440 work, where you're just doing a lot of things, 00:12:13.480 --> 00:12:16.080 but nothing gets, you're not even making any 00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:20.840 progress. Praise God. He establishes that. I 00:12:20.840 --> 00:12:26.039 want to read 4 to 9. We'll stop at 20. So he 00:12:26.039 --> 00:12:31.519 says, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling 00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:35.139 the world to himself, not impugning their trespasses, 00:12:35.139 --> 00:12:37.980 which is very key, not impugning their trespasses 00:12:37.980 --> 00:12:43.399 to them. He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 00:12:44.980 --> 00:12:51.389 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though 00:12:51.389 --> 00:12:57.309 God were pleading through us. We implore you 00:12:57.309 --> 00:13:02.490 on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. We 00:13:02.490 --> 00:13:07.809 implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled 00:13:07.809 --> 00:13:11.129 to God. So now we see the identity and we see 00:13:11.129 --> 00:13:14.690 the responsibility. Please, let's just walk. 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:17.519 this together. We'll be seeing identity and we'll 00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:19.559 be seeing responsibility. And where we get the 00:13:19.559 --> 00:13:22.139 topic for this teaching is from verse 4. That 00:13:22.139 --> 00:13:27.379 is 2 Corinthians 6 verse 4. 2 Corinthians 6 verse 00:13:27.379 --> 00:13:29.779 4. And just take note of the word commend you. 00:13:31.259 --> 00:13:35.700 2 Corinthians 6 verse 4. I'll just read. It says, 00:13:35.960 --> 00:13:43.379 But in all things we commend ourselves As ministers 00:13:43.379 --> 00:13:48.879 of God, with patience and tribulations, I just 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:50.799 want you to pay attention to the first line there. 00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:55.500 But in all things, we commend ourselves as ministers 00:13:55.500 --> 00:14:02.120 of God. We say this in all things, we commend 00:14:02.120 --> 00:14:05.279 ourselves as ministers of God. You know, from 00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:09.399 the previous verse, all of it is anchored on... 00:14:09.610 --> 00:14:11.970 what he has been saying, several things he has 00:14:11.970 --> 00:14:16.029 said. Committing ourselves as ministers of God. 00:14:16.090 --> 00:14:19.029 We want to first ask ourselves, who is a minister? 00:14:20.789 --> 00:14:27.269 Who is a minister? And the word there for minister 00:14:27.269 --> 00:14:35.870 is the Greek word diakonos, which is D -I -A 00:14:35.870 --> 00:14:46.190 -K -O -N -O -S. D -I -A -K -O -N -O -S. And the 00:14:46.190 --> 00:14:49.889 word implies servant. If you look at some certain 00:14:49.889 --> 00:14:54.389 translations, you will see servant, someone who 00:14:54.389 --> 00:14:59.610 serves or someone who serves to serve with another. 00:15:02.210 --> 00:15:06.990 It implies a servant or someone who serves or 00:15:06.990 --> 00:15:10.610 to serve with another. And this word is used 00:15:10.610 --> 00:15:16.090 for a deacon. Not a deacon. It's used for a deacon. 00:15:16.490 --> 00:15:20.809 It's good. It's used for a deacon. And going 00:15:20.809 --> 00:15:23.909 back to the passage where he says, in all things 00:15:23.909 --> 00:15:26.450 that we recommend ourselves, meaning that Apostle 00:15:26.450 --> 00:15:29.990 Paul is speaking of himself and the people he's 00:15:29.990 --> 00:15:32.730 talking to. And it's not just certain groups 00:15:32.730 --> 00:15:35.220 of people, right? And even when he started the 00:15:35.220 --> 00:15:39.220 first verse in 1, he says, Then as walkers together. 00:15:40.200 --> 00:15:42.960 As walkers together. Everyone is included in 00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:46.600 this. As walkers together. As walkers together. 00:15:46.820 --> 00:15:49.600 So a minister of God is called to the work of 00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:54.039 God. And I want us to look at what this work 00:15:54.039 --> 00:15:57.080 entails. I want us to examine. I want us to pay 00:15:57.080 --> 00:15:59.299 close attention to what this work will be. Because 00:15:59.299 --> 00:16:01.519 if you say you're called to a work, you need 00:16:01.519 --> 00:16:03.200 to know what the work is to do the work, right? 00:16:03.799 --> 00:16:05.980 If you don't know the walk, you can do the walk. 00:16:06.080 --> 00:16:08.519 Yes, you can answer walker, but you're not responsible. 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:11.440 Because responsibility is actually doing the 00:16:11.440 --> 00:16:14.559 walk, right? Responsibility is actually doing 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:18.860 the walk. So I said that when he says walkers 00:16:18.860 --> 00:16:22.919 or ministers, he's not talking about an individual. 00:16:23.019 --> 00:16:26.240 Yes, you can be a minister. But note that when 00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:30.259 he says ministers, it's plural, right? It's plural, 00:16:30.440 --> 00:16:33.570 which goes back to what we have been. Pastor 00:16:33.570 --> 00:16:35.250 Victor has been teaching us on the fact that 00:16:35.250 --> 00:16:37.830 in our service, we don't serve individually. 00:16:38.950 --> 00:16:42.110 Even when you're doing your service, you're serving 00:16:42.110 --> 00:16:44.889 someone, right? You're not serving yourself. 00:16:45.230 --> 00:16:50.629 Your service is in a body. Praise God. Your service 00:16:50.629 --> 00:16:53.009 is in a body. So it means that you can't do service 00:16:53.009 --> 00:16:57.330 alone. You cannot do service alone. Even a church 00:16:57.330 --> 00:17:00.970 service, you can't do it alone. You need encouragement, 00:17:01.250 --> 00:17:03.850 right? When you're talking to someone, someone 00:17:03.850 --> 00:17:06.089 is talking back to you and you're getting feedback, 00:17:06.369 --> 00:17:08.750 it's encouraging. Praise God. And we say that 00:17:08.750 --> 00:17:11.250 we're part of a family. We're part of God's household, 00:17:11.450 --> 00:17:15.250 right? We're part of a family. And that is in 00:17:15.250 --> 00:17:18.470 the household of God that we minister. It's in 00:17:18.470 --> 00:17:21.609 the household of God that we minister. Because 00:17:21.609 --> 00:17:26.269 you will have to minister to someone. And you 00:17:26.269 --> 00:17:29.940 can only do that effectively in... And please 00:17:29.940 --> 00:17:32.380 pay attention. I'm still repeating myself again. 00:17:32.579 --> 00:17:37.140 That this ministry or this walk of ministry is 00:17:37.140 --> 00:17:41.460 not to a particular group of people. It's not 00:17:41.460 --> 00:17:46.240 to, you know, it's not to the pastor. You know, 00:17:46.259 --> 00:17:49.279 I think we started. It's not to, it's not everyone 00:17:49.279 --> 00:17:54.259 that believes. We said it. The moment you identify 00:17:54.259 --> 00:17:57.569 as a believer, you have a responsibility. The 00:17:57.569 --> 00:17:59.849 moment you identify as a believer, you have a 00:17:59.849 --> 00:18:02.329 responsibility. And it's very interesting that 00:18:02.329 --> 00:18:09.930 we should note that as a minister, you don't 00:18:09.930 --> 00:18:12.869 have to think about it. You will minister, right? 00:18:13.369 --> 00:18:17.609 As a minister identity, you will minister responsibility. 00:18:19.250 --> 00:18:25.109 As a minister, you will minister. As a minister... 00:18:25.279 --> 00:18:28.599 you will minister. Going back to what Apostle 00:18:28.599 --> 00:18:32.019 Paul was saying to them in verse 1. He says, 00:18:32.140 --> 00:18:36.440 as workers together with him also plead with 00:18:36.440 --> 00:18:42.859 you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 00:18:43.640 --> 00:18:46.859 Your identity, there's work, means that there's 00:18:46.859 --> 00:18:48.880 a responsibility. What he'll be charging them 00:18:48.880 --> 00:18:52.740 to do is to identify with the responsibility 00:18:52.740 --> 00:18:56.690 that they have. And certain translations will 00:18:56.690 --> 00:18:59.710 use fellow workers, right? God's fellow workers. 00:19:00.069 --> 00:19:03.230 The Amplified Classic will say God's fellow workers. 00:19:03.990 --> 00:19:07.690 And then the NIV will say co -workers, God's 00:19:07.690 --> 00:19:11.349 co -workers. In what work? It says the work of 00:19:11.349 --> 00:19:14.910 ministry, right? In the work of ministry. And 00:19:14.910 --> 00:19:18.490 observe, I will say it again, I will repeat myself 00:19:18.490 --> 00:19:23.750 till you get it. That a believer... is saved, 00:19:23.910 --> 00:19:26.529 and then what follows afterwards is that the 00:19:26.529 --> 00:19:28.930 believer is strained for the work of ministry. 00:19:29.809 --> 00:19:33.809 A believer is saved, then what happens immediately 00:19:33.809 --> 00:19:36.410 afterwards is that the believer is strained for 00:19:36.410 --> 00:19:40.710 the work of ministry. We have read 2 Corinthians 00:19:40.710 --> 00:19:46.009 5 .17 down to 20, and I'll bring our attention 00:19:46.009 --> 00:19:49.730 to the 19 and then the 20. It says that God, 00:19:49.869 --> 00:19:53.900 that is, God was in Christ reconciling the world 00:19:53.900 --> 00:19:57.039 to himself, not imputing their trespasses to 00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:02.440 them, and also committed to us the word of reconciliation. 00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:06.680 He committed it to us. Remember, he said, I commend 00:20:06.680 --> 00:20:10.420 you as ministers of God. Commended it to us. 00:20:10.539 --> 00:20:14.440 He said, now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, 00:20:14.500 --> 00:20:18.700 ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading 00:20:18.700 --> 00:20:22.079 through us. Meaning that the individual now is 00:20:22.079 --> 00:20:27.680 a conduit. The individual is a conduit. What 00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:30.000 the individual is communicating is what they 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:37.000 have received. We implore you on Christ's behalf. 00:20:37.180 --> 00:20:40.200 Meaning that the person that is a minister is 00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:44.839 representing, is standing on behalf of Christ. 00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:49.430 Be reconciled to God. Praise God. So what we're 00:20:49.430 --> 00:20:52.490 going to take time to do next is that we're going 00:20:52.490 --> 00:20:55.849 to look at what this grace is, the grace of God. 00:20:56.650 --> 00:21:03.309 What is the grace of God? What is the grace of 00:21:03.309 --> 00:21:06.789 God? First, let's just, is it something? Is it 00:21:06.789 --> 00:21:10.430 someone? Is it something? Is it someone? We're 00:21:10.430 --> 00:21:12.170 going to look at a couple of passages to establish 00:21:12.170 --> 00:21:19.090 that. The word grace is a Greek word. Charis. 00:21:19.090 --> 00:21:28.029 That's C -H -A -R -I -S. C -H -A -R -I -S. It 00:21:28.029 --> 00:21:32.130 means what is freely given. It means what is 00:21:32.130 --> 00:21:34.750 freely given for the benefit of the recipient. 00:21:35.670 --> 00:21:39.490 What is freely given for the benefit of the recipient. 00:21:39.809 --> 00:21:45.089 It's a gift. And sometimes you see it as a gift 00:21:45.089 --> 00:21:48.990 of God. The grace of God. You see it as, and 00:21:48.990 --> 00:21:51.609 it's not something that you work for, right? 00:21:51.769 --> 00:21:54.069 It's not something that you work for. Remember, 00:21:54.269 --> 00:21:57.630 we said your identity, you didn't come into relationship 00:21:57.630 --> 00:22:01.170 with God by us, by what it is that you've done. 00:22:01.910 --> 00:22:04.809 We have to very much establish that how you came 00:22:04.809 --> 00:22:06.650 into the relationship you have with God is not 00:22:06.650 --> 00:22:08.730 by what the things that you've done. It's not 00:22:08.730 --> 00:22:11.670 because you did certain things. It's by what 00:22:11.670 --> 00:22:14.690 Christ has done. It's by what Christ has done. 00:22:15.150 --> 00:22:18.710 So the grace of God is freely given to us at 00:22:18.710 --> 00:22:22.630 Christ's resurrection. Know that it is his death, 00:22:22.670 --> 00:22:24.509 burial, and resurrection that brings us into 00:22:24.509 --> 00:22:26.730 the relationship. Remember what it says, we're 00:22:26.730 --> 00:22:30.430 reconciled to God by what Christ has done. We're 00:22:30.430 --> 00:22:34.769 reconciled to God. And know that that reconciliation 00:22:34.769 --> 00:22:37.730 brings us to that place of where we are serving. 00:22:38.390 --> 00:22:41.829 We're serving. We're serving. And for everyone 00:22:41.829 --> 00:22:44.170 of us to serve and serve effectively, there's 00:22:44.170 --> 00:22:47.069 a need for training. And where training happens 00:22:47.069 --> 00:22:51.029 is in meetings like this. Midweek service meetings. 00:22:52.809 --> 00:22:56.210 Friday cell meetings. And I want you to ask yourself 00:22:56.210 --> 00:22:58.289 why this teaching is going on. Are you part of 00:22:58.289 --> 00:23:00.470 the midweek service meetings? Are you part of 00:23:00.470 --> 00:23:02.670 the cell meetings? Because those are avenues 00:23:02.670 --> 00:23:06.190 where we are trained for the work that we're 00:23:06.190 --> 00:23:09.470 called to do. When we say, okay, we're doing 00:23:09.470 --> 00:23:12.809 our Bible in one year, we're doing all of those 00:23:12.809 --> 00:23:16.509 things, avenues that we have to be trained. For 00:23:16.509 --> 00:23:20.710 some of us, we have never. We have never read 00:23:20.710 --> 00:23:23.609 our Bibles. In fact, somebody can say something 00:23:23.609 --> 00:23:25.769 and tell you it's in there, and you say yes. 00:23:26.890 --> 00:23:29.490 Because you are not familiar with it. And you 00:23:29.490 --> 00:23:32.509 can't be a minister without knowing what it is 00:23:32.509 --> 00:23:35.569 your ministry is. And it's in the Word of God 00:23:35.569 --> 00:23:39.119 that we are better. we have better clarity as 00:23:39.119 --> 00:23:42.740 to what we are called to do. So we want to now 00:23:42.740 --> 00:23:46.480 look at the things that God has done and the 00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:49.019 things that he's doing. The things that God has 00:23:49.019 --> 00:23:52.059 done, he had done them in Christ Jesus. The victory 00:23:52.059 --> 00:23:53.900 that we have, we're not walking for that victory. 00:23:54.299 --> 00:23:56.640 It has already been done. And we're going to 00:23:56.640 --> 00:23:59.940 see what it is that he is doing because we know 00:23:59.940 --> 00:24:03.859 that God is walking in us. He's walking in us. 00:24:03.980 --> 00:24:06.539 At the agency by which he does that is the instrument 00:24:06.539 --> 00:24:10.440 of his word, by his spirit, by teachings, by 00:24:10.440 --> 00:24:14.220 fellowship, we're able to be built. We're able 00:24:14.220 --> 00:24:16.680 to be built. I want us to look at 1 Corinthians 00:24:16.680 --> 00:24:23.380 15 .10. 1 Corinthians 15 .10. And Apostle Paul 00:24:23.380 --> 00:24:26.700 speaking, he says, but for the grace of God, 00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:31.769 but by the grace of God, sorry. But by the grace 00:24:31.769 --> 00:24:35.890 of God, I am what I am. Apostle Paul is speaking 00:24:35.890 --> 00:24:39.869 that what he is, is because of the grace of God. 00:24:39.910 --> 00:24:42.130 And we say the grace of God is freely given. 00:24:42.269 --> 00:24:46.670 He didn't work for it. He says, and his grace 00:24:46.670 --> 00:24:49.150 towards me is not in vain. I'm going to first 00:24:49.150 --> 00:24:54.369 remember 6 verse 1, right? He says, the grace 00:24:54.369 --> 00:24:56.109 of God, let the grace of God not be in vain, 00:24:56.170 --> 00:24:58.849 right? Same thing here, he's saying, and the 00:24:58.849 --> 00:25:01.140 grace of God towards him is... Not in vain, meaning 00:25:01.140 --> 00:25:04.539 that he has a responsibility. He says, but I 00:25:04.539 --> 00:25:11.599 labored more abundantly than they all. Yet not 00:25:11.599 --> 00:25:18.460 I, but the grace of God, which was with me. Praise 00:25:18.460 --> 00:25:21.740 God. He says, yet not I, but the grace of God. 00:25:22.460 --> 00:25:24.819 Meaning that he's doing the things he's doing, 00:25:24.859 --> 00:25:27.539 but he knows that it's not that. It is the grace 00:25:27.539 --> 00:25:32.910 of God. He's taking his responsibilities seriously. 00:25:32.910 --> 00:25:36.029 He's not sleeping. He's taking his responsibilities 00:25:36.029 --> 00:25:38.609 seriously and he knows that that is all attributable 00:25:38.609 --> 00:25:42.269 because if he isn't identified with Christ, everything 00:25:42.269 --> 00:25:46.609 he's doing will just be useless work. In fact, 00:25:46.609 --> 00:25:50.869 before he was saved, he was responsible. Praise 00:25:50.869 --> 00:25:53.349 God. He was responsible for killing Christians. 00:25:54.089 --> 00:25:58.470 He was responsible for... He went all out. And 00:25:58.470 --> 00:26:01.009 then now that he's identified with Christ, he 00:26:01.009 --> 00:26:04.150 now has a responsibility. And we say that this 00:26:04.150 --> 00:26:06.369 responsibility is the responsibility that God 00:26:06.369 --> 00:26:08.150 has given unto him for the work of ministry. 00:26:09.009 --> 00:26:14.029 Praise God. And he works hard. He works hard. 00:26:15.210 --> 00:26:18.990 And you don't want to sleep on the grace of God 00:26:18.990 --> 00:26:22.869 that you have received. You want to make the 00:26:22.869 --> 00:26:27.450 most of it. Right? If you're not being trained, 00:26:28.089 --> 00:26:32.029 you will not be effective. Without training, 00:26:32.250 --> 00:26:34.309 you will not be effective. Without training, 00:26:34.450 --> 00:26:37.849 you will not be effective. And we are in a world 00:26:37.849 --> 00:26:45.890 where people don't want to put in effort. They 00:26:45.890 --> 00:26:51.809 just want to do less and see more. You know, 00:26:51.849 --> 00:26:54.109 even when you are doing useless work, there's 00:26:54.109 --> 00:26:58.160 still results, right? You're just working. And 00:26:58.160 --> 00:27:00.819 people can be busy, but still doing nothing. 00:27:01.319 --> 00:27:06.319 You're very busy, but you can't... You know, 00:27:06.359 --> 00:27:08.740 you need to have... When we started, we said, 00:27:08.819 --> 00:27:13.440 you want to have a sense of direction. I'm going 00:27:13.440 --> 00:27:15.900 to accomplish this. I put everything in that 00:27:15.900 --> 00:27:20.259 direction to get the work done. If I spread myself 00:27:20.259 --> 00:27:26.960 wide... There's so much you can do with the amount 00:27:26.960 --> 00:27:30.059 of time that you have. We all have that same 00:27:30.059 --> 00:27:32.859 amount of time. And we're in a world where people 00:27:32.859 --> 00:27:37.420 do this work smart. And we use that work smart. 00:27:37.500 --> 00:27:40.220 Some people use the work smart as an excuse for 00:27:40.220 --> 00:27:44.480 laziness. Say, I'm working smart. You know, you're 00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:50.660 working hard. I'm working smart. And you... And 00:27:50.660 --> 00:27:54.019 there's no progress in the smart walk. Because 00:27:54.019 --> 00:27:58.640 every hard walk has its result. And we know we 00:27:58.640 --> 00:28:01.259 can see that. We can see it in the results it 00:28:01.259 --> 00:28:03.819 produces. Praise God. We can see it in the results 00:28:03.819 --> 00:28:06.200 that it produces. And it's very important that 00:28:06.200 --> 00:28:11.740 we are doing it God's way. We're doing it God's 00:28:11.740 --> 00:28:17.200 way. Many of us like doing things in our own 00:28:17.200 --> 00:28:19.789 terms. They say, okay, do it like this. You say, 00:28:19.849 --> 00:28:23.470 no, no, no, this is easier. I prefer this way. 00:28:25.150 --> 00:28:28.210 Preferring your way will produce your results 00:28:28.210 --> 00:28:31.349 or produce the result that is not expected. If 00:28:31.349 --> 00:28:36.009 we want to do things for God, we walk by His 00:28:36.009 --> 00:28:42.029 instruction. You believe and you're saved and 00:28:42.029 --> 00:28:43.769 then you're trained for the work of ministry. 00:28:44.109 --> 00:28:46.349 Once you're done, it's something else that you're 00:28:46.349 --> 00:28:48.500 going to be doing. Not ministry. You can call 00:28:48.500 --> 00:28:50.420 it whatever it is. And many people do that in 00:28:50.420 --> 00:28:52.339 this day and age where they say, I'm doing ministry. 00:28:52.420 --> 00:28:56.559 What are you doing? They can't explain it. And 00:28:56.559 --> 00:29:00.700 by the way, just for context sake, standing and 00:29:00.700 --> 00:29:03.880 preaching to you, yes, it's part of ministry, 00:29:03.900 --> 00:29:07.319 but it's not. You can't do one thing as part 00:29:07.319 --> 00:29:08.579 of it and then you say you're doing the whole 00:29:08.579 --> 00:29:11.579 thing. Sometimes we want to make our way with 00:29:11.579 --> 00:29:15.700 that. The grace of God says, In that particular 00:29:15.700 --> 00:29:17.500 passage, in the next passage we're going to be 00:29:17.500 --> 00:29:19.539 seeing, we want to see that the grace of God 00:29:19.539 --> 00:29:21.779 was very much, which we have seen previously, 00:29:22.039 --> 00:29:25.000 was very much made available by what Christ has 00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:27.140 done on the cross. Very important. We'll see 00:29:27.140 --> 00:29:30.539 that in 1 Corinthians 1 verse 4. 1 Corinthians 00:29:30.539 --> 00:29:33.079 1 verse 4. Apostle Paul speaking and says, I 00:29:33.079 --> 00:29:37.200 thank my God, always concerning you, for the 00:29:37.200 --> 00:29:40.539 believers, for the grace of God which was given 00:29:40.539 --> 00:29:45.480 to you by Christ Jesus. for the grace of God 00:29:45.480 --> 00:29:50.799 given to you by Christ Jesus. He very spells 00:29:50.799 --> 00:29:54.880 it that it's Christ Jesus that made that grace 00:29:54.880 --> 00:29:57.319 available. And we know that the means by which 00:29:57.319 --> 00:30:01.119 that was accomplished is by what he had done 00:30:01.119 --> 00:30:05.480 for us to be reconciled to God. Amen? What he 00:30:05.480 --> 00:30:08.019 has done for us to be reconciled to God. And 00:30:08.019 --> 00:30:12.559 in Acts 11, I want us to read Acts 11, verse 00:30:12.559 --> 00:30:22.529 21 to... Acts 11, 21, 23. Even though I think 00:30:22.529 --> 00:30:25.289 when I look at 19. Okay, it says, And the hand 00:30:25.289 --> 00:30:29.390 of God was with them, and a great number believed 00:30:29.390 --> 00:30:33.109 and turned to the Lord. A great number believed 00:30:33.109 --> 00:30:37.710 and turned to the Lord. Then news of these things 00:30:37.710 --> 00:30:41.950 came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem. 00:30:42.809 --> 00:30:47.990 And they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. 00:30:49.730 --> 00:30:56.230 When he came and had seen the grace of God, he 00:30:56.230 --> 00:31:01.410 was glad and encouraged them all that with purpose 00:31:01.410 --> 00:31:04.710 of heart they should continue with the Lord. 00:31:04.789 --> 00:31:07.069 Praise God. That with purpose of heart they should 00:31:07.069 --> 00:31:09.690 continue with the Lord. I want us to see something. 00:31:12.460 --> 00:31:15.440 The preaching of the gospel by the believers 00:31:15.440 --> 00:31:17.039 that were scattered abroad, we'll see that in, 00:31:17.180 --> 00:31:24.279 let's go up to 19. 19. Yeah, it says, now those 00:31:24.279 --> 00:31:27.220 who were scattered after the persecution that 00:31:27.220 --> 00:31:36.940 arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phenicinia. 00:31:39.119 --> 00:31:45.140 Cyprus and Antioch preaching. the word to one, 00:31:45.460 --> 00:31:49.640 preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. 00:31:50.039 --> 00:31:54.839 Then 20 now is where we see the results. But 00:31:54.839 --> 00:31:59.460 some of them were men, some of them were men 00:31:59.460 --> 00:32:03.759 from Cyprus and Cyrene who, when they had come 00:32:03.759 --> 00:32:06.039 to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists preaching 00:32:06.039 --> 00:32:12.579 the Lord Jesus. That's 21. And the hand of God, 00:32:13.039 --> 00:32:16.299 was with them and a great number believed and 00:32:16.299 --> 00:32:19.400 received and were turned to the Lord. Believed 00:32:19.400 --> 00:32:20.480 and were turned to the Lord. They say, and now 00:32:20.480 --> 00:32:23.160 this news reached them and then they sent Barnabas 00:32:23.160 --> 00:32:25.660 to confirm. And what we see there is the preaching 00:32:25.660 --> 00:32:29.700 of the gospel by the believers that were scattered 00:32:29.700 --> 00:32:31.940 and the result of them being scattered is persecution. 00:32:32.640 --> 00:32:34.359 And I think I was saying this one time in our 00:32:34.359 --> 00:32:38.660 cell. I said, if you are being persecuted and 00:32:38.660 --> 00:32:42.119 then you run, How you know that you take what 00:32:42.119 --> 00:32:43.980 you're doing seriously is that anywhere you find 00:32:43.980 --> 00:32:46.240 yourself, you continue what they were persecuting 00:32:46.240 --> 00:32:50.299 you for. Praise God. You continue. It's like 00:32:50.299 --> 00:32:54.160 the reason why they chased you, in the negative 00:32:54.160 --> 00:32:56.099 sense, it is why they chased you from my house. 00:32:56.339 --> 00:32:58.019 It's because you now go to the next place and 00:32:58.019 --> 00:33:00.500 then you continue the same thing. That one makes 00:33:00.500 --> 00:33:03.640 sense. You continue the same thing. But these 00:33:03.640 --> 00:33:07.200 people were, because of preaching the gospel, 00:33:07.279 --> 00:33:10.259 and then they went to that new location. They 00:33:10.259 --> 00:33:12.720 continued. And they continued and they did it 00:33:12.720 --> 00:33:16.319 so well that a lot of people, right, it says 00:33:16.319 --> 00:33:21.839 there that a great number believed and were turned 00:33:21.839 --> 00:33:28.099 to the Lord. And Barabbas came and he saw what 00:33:28.099 --> 00:33:30.119 God was doing in the lives of these people. The 00:33:30.119 --> 00:33:33.819 way the gospel was preached, what was happening 00:33:33.819 --> 00:33:36.319 in their lives, not just the fact that they were 00:33:36.319 --> 00:33:39.470 numbered, but the... The training and what has 00:33:39.470 --> 00:33:42.410 happened. Because for you to have that amount 00:33:42.410 --> 00:33:44.309 of... It's not one person doing the whole work. 00:33:45.029 --> 00:33:48.569 Praise God. That's why we are ministers of God. 00:33:48.750 --> 00:33:51.390 It's not one person that does it. And if you 00:33:51.390 --> 00:33:54.529 sit down and say, No, it's not my responsibility. 00:33:55.009 --> 00:33:59.210 You are not being responsible. Praise God. You 00:33:59.210 --> 00:34:01.529 are even walking in disobedience. That's what 00:34:01.529 --> 00:34:03.869 it is. Because the scripture instructs us to 00:34:03.869 --> 00:34:09.380 do so. Right? Not that it encourages, it's encouraging, 00:34:09.619 --> 00:34:12.099 right? When you come here and there's a lot of 00:34:12.099 --> 00:34:13.940 people, no space, you know, that is encouraging. 00:34:14.719 --> 00:34:17.599 And it gladdens our heart that the work of God 00:34:17.599 --> 00:34:22.300 is going and we encourage ourselves, right? And 00:34:22.300 --> 00:34:24.719 our hearts are encouraged. And how that continues 00:34:24.719 --> 00:34:27.679 to happen is that we stay. He says something 00:34:27.679 --> 00:34:31.619 very important, that all with the purpose of 00:34:31.619 --> 00:34:34.719 heart, that it should continue with the Lord. 00:34:35.320 --> 00:34:38.739 Because continuing with the walk of ministry 00:34:38.739 --> 00:34:40.519 or continuing with what the Lord has instructed 00:34:40.519 --> 00:34:43.219 was what got them there in the first place. And 00:34:43.219 --> 00:34:47.920 once you regress, you see something else. Praise 00:34:47.920 --> 00:34:50.079 God. Once we regress, we see something else. 00:34:50.280 --> 00:34:55.199 And in 2 Corinthians 9 verse 14, 2 Corinthians 00:34:55.199 --> 00:34:59.880 9 verse 14, it says, And by their prayer for 00:34:59.880 --> 00:35:05.050 you, we long for you because of the exceeding 00:35:05.050 --> 00:35:10.510 grace of God in you. The exceeding grace of God 00:35:10.510 --> 00:35:15.750 in you. Note that this grace is in us, and every 00:35:15.750 --> 00:35:19.550 believer has it, right? Every believer has salvation, 00:35:19.650 --> 00:35:21.150 and it's not just for a certain group of people. 00:35:21.210 --> 00:35:23.369 It's not just like Apostle Paul, only it's just 00:35:23.369 --> 00:35:27.989 him. You know, when he says, if not for the grace 00:35:27.989 --> 00:35:32.079 of God, I am what I am, and it's only him. It's 00:35:32.079 --> 00:35:35.360 for every believer. Don't exclude yourself. And 00:35:35.360 --> 00:35:37.920 for some of us, we have excluded ourselves. We 00:35:37.920 --> 00:35:41.039 just feel like our work is just to come, make 00:35:41.039 --> 00:35:43.559 attendance, and then move. And for some individuals, 00:35:43.880 --> 00:35:47.599 you have been restraining yourself from the calling 00:35:47.599 --> 00:35:50.300 of God upon your life. You have been restraining, 00:35:50.400 --> 00:35:53.699 you have been doing all that things to numb what 00:35:53.699 --> 00:35:56.119 God has been instructing you to do. Doing a lot 00:35:56.119 --> 00:35:58.579 of things to numb what God has been instructing 00:35:58.579 --> 00:36:04.289 you to do. Know that you want to reorient yourself. 00:36:05.070 --> 00:36:08.550 You want to realign yourself to what God has 00:36:08.550 --> 00:36:11.809 called you to do from the very beginning. From 00:36:11.809 --> 00:36:17.949 the very beginning. And I want us to see second, 00:36:18.090 --> 00:36:23.389 let's see Ephesians. Ephesians 3. Ephesians 3. 00:36:26.510 --> 00:36:34.269 Verse 2. Ephesians 3 verse 2. It says, For indeed 00:36:34.269 --> 00:36:39.849 you have heard of the dispensation of the grace 00:36:39.849 --> 00:36:43.949 of God which was given to me for you. Let's stop 00:36:43.949 --> 00:36:47.349 there. I'll read it from the New Living Translation. 00:36:47.670 --> 00:36:54.510 It says, Assuming by this way that you know God 00:36:54.510 --> 00:37:00.210 gave me the special ability to extend His grace. 00:37:01.840 --> 00:37:05.059 to you Gentiles. I want you to see the special 00:37:05.059 --> 00:37:07.820 responsibility, sorry, the special responsibility 00:37:07.820 --> 00:37:12.860 to extend his grace. And he also causes the responsibility, 00:37:13.099 --> 00:37:17.400 gives it that responsibility to extend his grace 00:37:17.400 --> 00:37:20.760 to the Gentiles. And then three in the same, 00:37:20.780 --> 00:37:25.039 let's continue on the three. It says, how that 00:37:25.039 --> 00:37:28.760 by revelation he made known to me the mystery 00:37:28.760 --> 00:37:35.130 as I have. Briefly written already. As I have 00:37:35.130 --> 00:37:40.409 briefly written already verse 4. It says, by 00:37:40.409 --> 00:37:44.630 which when you read. Remember that he said the 00:37:44.630 --> 00:37:48.289 revelation was given to him. And he had written 00:37:48.289 --> 00:37:52.250 it down. And now the responsibility of the believer 00:37:52.250 --> 00:37:57.769 is to read. You may understand my knowledge in 00:37:57.769 --> 00:38:00.900 the mystery. of Christ. Know that the understanding 00:38:00.900 --> 00:38:04.280 will only happen when you read. And what kind 00:38:04.280 --> 00:38:07.059 of, what is that read? That read is not just, 00:38:07.159 --> 00:38:09.639 I think we've said this in the church, by thought, 00:38:09.659 --> 00:38:11.780 I think I can remember, Pastor Victor, it is 00:38:11.780 --> 00:38:17.679 a diligent reading. It's a careful reading. It 00:38:17.679 --> 00:38:23.000 means to read again. It means to read with attention 00:38:23.000 --> 00:38:28.079 to details. It's not just a casual reading. It's 00:38:28.400 --> 00:38:33.320 And we know that the source of it is the revelation 00:38:33.320 --> 00:38:35.500 that was given to him. And we know that this 00:38:35.500 --> 00:38:39.800 revelation is made available to him by the grace 00:38:39.800 --> 00:38:58.539 of God. Let's continue to 7. Verse 5. apostles 00:38:58.539 --> 00:39:02.199 and prophets, that the Gentiles should be fellow 00:39:02.199 --> 00:39:05.960 heirs of the same body and partakers of the promise 00:39:05.960 --> 00:39:10.659 in Christ through the gospel, the gospel of which 00:39:10.659 --> 00:39:15.099 I became a minister according to the gift of 00:39:15.099 --> 00:39:18.260 the grace of God given to me by the effective 00:39:18.260 --> 00:39:23.860 walking of his power. Praise God. All of this, 00:39:23.860 --> 00:39:28.559 he says, I am a minister. according to the gift 00:39:28.559 --> 00:39:32.659 of the grace of God given to me by the effective 00:39:32.659 --> 00:39:35.159 walking of his power. That's the power of God, 00:39:35.380 --> 00:39:38.320 the gift of God. All of that is what brought 00:39:38.320 --> 00:39:41.340 him to that place. And the revelation made available 00:39:41.340 --> 00:39:45.039 by the Holy Spirit, he gives the revelation and 00:39:45.039 --> 00:39:47.539 he wants every other person that is reading, 00:39:48.139 --> 00:39:51.860 us included, to come to that place of an understanding. 00:39:53.119 --> 00:39:56.610 And what this means is that we... are brought 00:39:56.610 --> 00:39:59.329 into it and we are able to have that understanding 00:39:59.329 --> 00:40:03.210 by the grace of God. And in 2 Peter, which is 00:40:03.210 --> 00:40:05.269 where we'll see that we grow in the grace of 00:40:05.269 --> 00:40:07.489 God. The grace of God will mean the knowledge 00:40:07.489 --> 00:40:11.050 of God, right? The grace of God will be the knowledge 00:40:11.050 --> 00:40:16.670 of God. 2 Peter 3, 18. It says, but grow in the 00:40:16.670 --> 00:40:20.090 grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus, of 00:40:20.090 --> 00:40:24.050 our Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ. To him be 00:40:24.050 --> 00:40:27.510 the glory now and forever. Amen. Meaning that 00:40:27.510 --> 00:40:32.789 as a believer, we grow. And how do we grow? By 00:40:32.789 --> 00:40:36.510 training. We grow by training. We grow by the 00:40:36.510 --> 00:40:40.989 word of God. We grow in evil. And we'll see in 00:40:40.989 --> 00:40:46.110 the same, we'll see Ephesians 2 verse 8. Ephesians 00:40:46.110 --> 00:40:49.510 2 verse 8. We'll see it with respect to it. It 00:40:49.510 --> 00:40:52.539 says, For by grace we have been saved through 00:40:52.539 --> 00:40:56.960 faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift 00:40:56.960 --> 00:41:00.340 of God. You see, by grace we have been saved 00:41:00.340 --> 00:41:03.519 through faith. The means by which we are saved 00:41:03.519 --> 00:41:06.960 is by faith and believing in what Christ has 00:41:06.960 --> 00:41:12.219 done. And then we come to that place where we 00:41:12.219 --> 00:41:15.260 are able to be responsible. Very key that we 00:41:15.260 --> 00:41:17.980 further re -establish the fact that the grace 00:41:17.980 --> 00:41:23.889 of God is... the agency by which an unbeliever 00:41:23.889 --> 00:41:27.869 is saved. And the means by which that happens 00:41:27.869 --> 00:41:30.570 is by the preaching. It's by a believer preaching, 00:41:30.670 --> 00:41:32.610 not an unbeliever preaching to an unbeliever, 00:41:32.670 --> 00:41:35.969 right? That's not how it happens. It's by someone 00:41:35.969 --> 00:41:38.809 who believes, because when you don't believe 00:41:38.809 --> 00:41:40.909 something, you can't convince someone of that 00:41:40.909 --> 00:41:44.269 thing with you. And even when you believe, you 00:41:44.269 --> 00:41:47.369 have to be trained to do it effectively, right? 00:41:47.690 --> 00:41:50.260 Even when you do believe. Without training, you 00:41:50.260 --> 00:41:53.420 cannot preach or effectively communicate that 00:41:53.420 --> 00:41:56.539 which you have received. Praise God. And then 00:41:56.539 --> 00:42:01.119 Timothy 2, verse 11. We'll read down to 14. Timothy 00:42:01.119 --> 00:42:07.380 2, verse 11. I'm sorry, Titus. Titus 2, verse 00:42:07.380 --> 00:42:23.190 11. It says, Teaching us that denying ungodliness 00:42:23.190 --> 00:42:28.230 and worldly loss, we should live soberly, righteously 00:42:28.230 --> 00:42:34.369 and godly in this present age. 13. Looking for 00:42:34.369 --> 00:42:36.909 the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our 00:42:36.909 --> 00:42:41.849 great God and Savior Jesus Christ. 14. Who gave 00:42:41.849 --> 00:42:45.590 himself for us that he might redeem us. from 00:42:45.590 --> 00:42:49.369 every lawless deed and purify for himself his 00:42:49.369 --> 00:42:54.750 own special people, zealous for good works. Zealous 00:42:54.750 --> 00:42:57.849 for good works. I want us to go back to the 11. 00:42:58.530 --> 00:43:01.349 And we see that it's the grace of God that brings 00:43:01.349 --> 00:43:03.690 salvation, right? It's the grace of God. It's 00:43:03.690 --> 00:43:07.849 Christ, what Christ has done. And how that happens 00:43:07.849 --> 00:43:11.829 is when the word of God is preached. When the 00:43:11.829 --> 00:43:14.460 word of God is preached, The person believes 00:43:14.460 --> 00:43:19.099 and receives it. Now that person is saved. And 00:43:19.099 --> 00:43:21.400 once that person is saved, what happens next 00:43:21.400 --> 00:43:24.320 is that the person now is trained for the work 00:43:24.320 --> 00:43:26.679 of ministry. And this is not excluding anybody. 00:43:27.460 --> 00:43:29.900 Everybody is part of that. Once you're trained, 00:43:30.039 --> 00:43:34.860 you serve. And if you look at what it says, it 00:43:34.860 --> 00:43:39.940 says, teaching us. That same grace, teaching 00:43:39.940 --> 00:43:44.070 us. That same grace, teaching us. that denying 00:43:44.070 --> 00:43:47.889 ungodliness and bodily loss, we should live soberly, 00:43:47.909 --> 00:43:52.170 righteously, and godly in this present age. What 00:43:52.170 --> 00:43:55.730 that establishes very clearly is that you can 00:43:55.730 --> 00:44:00.929 be saved, but if you are not taught or trained, 00:44:01.090 --> 00:44:05.349 you will still be living like as before, but 00:44:05.349 --> 00:44:11.489 you are saved. Because you have... situations 00:44:11.489 --> 00:44:13.329 like that where you're confused. The person believes, 00:44:13.449 --> 00:44:15.670 the person loves the Lord, but the person is, 00:44:15.829 --> 00:44:21.650 you're not sure. Praise God. Know that you're 00:44:21.650 --> 00:44:26.610 not living out your identity. It's when you're 00:44:26.610 --> 00:44:30.309 responsible, you do what is instructed. And when 00:44:30.309 --> 00:44:34.210 you don't know, how do you do? You can't do anything 00:44:34.210 --> 00:44:36.690 when you don't know what that is. Praise God. 00:44:37.489 --> 00:44:40.079 You can't do anything when you don't know. what 00:44:40.079 --> 00:44:43.659 it is. That salvation, what should follow afterwards 00:44:43.659 --> 00:44:47.039 is, remember what I said, believer is saved and 00:44:47.039 --> 00:44:49.000 trained for the work of ministry. Believer is 00:44:49.000 --> 00:44:51.159 saved, trained for the work of ministry. And 00:44:51.159 --> 00:44:53.639 once that doesn't happen, you have a believer 00:44:53.639 --> 00:44:59.619 that is living in ungodliness and the problem 00:44:59.619 --> 00:45:03.260 is lack of training. The person is not taught. 00:45:03.760 --> 00:45:06.199 And once the person is taught, the person does. 00:45:06.599 --> 00:45:09.130 And we see that in Acts of Apostles. They come 00:45:09.130 --> 00:45:12.369 into a place, oh, what's going on here? The gospel 00:45:12.369 --> 00:45:14.630 is preached and then there's the laying of hands 00:45:14.630 --> 00:45:18.130 and then the person is equipped for ministering. 00:45:18.690 --> 00:45:21.309 Equipping for ministering. And I'll just read 00:45:21.309 --> 00:45:27.750 1 Peter. 1 Peter 4 verse 10. 1 Peter 4 verse 00:45:27.750 --> 00:45:31.789 10. It says, as each one has received a gift, 00:45:31.969 --> 00:45:37.369 minister it to one another. Minister it to one 00:45:37.369 --> 00:45:40.699 another. As good stewards of the manifold grace 00:45:40.699 --> 00:45:45.360 of God. Says, as each one has received the gift. 00:45:45.800 --> 00:45:49.480 Minister. We have received the gift, so we minister. 00:45:49.780 --> 00:45:52.840 We have received the gift, so we minister. We 00:45:52.840 --> 00:45:54.340 have received the gift, so we minister. And we 00:45:54.340 --> 00:45:57.760 minister what? As good stewards. We minister 00:45:57.760 --> 00:46:02.239 as faithful stewards of that which we have received. 00:46:02.800 --> 00:46:05.159 And a minister, we said earlier, I'll repeat 00:46:05.159 --> 00:46:11.380 again. Serves, right? Someone who serves is a 00:46:11.380 --> 00:46:15.739 servant. And it's also to serve with another 00:46:15.739 --> 00:46:19.239 or to serve one another. A minister is someone 00:46:19.239 --> 00:46:22.860 who serves. And I want us to see in the Acts 00:46:22.860 --> 00:46:25.500 while we close. In Acts 2, we'll continue from 00:46:25.500 --> 00:46:30.380 here in our next meeting. In Acts 2, verse 42, 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:36.880 47. I want you to see this very practical. In 00:46:36.880 --> 00:46:41.579 Acts 2. It says in Acts 2 .40, it says, And with 00:46:41.579 --> 00:46:45.099 many other words he testified and exalted them, 00:46:45.139 --> 00:46:48.199 saying, Be saved from this perverse generation. 00:46:49.320 --> 00:46:52.239 Then those who gladly received the word were 00:46:52.239 --> 00:46:56.300 baptized, and that day about three thousand souls 00:46:56.300 --> 00:47:00.420 were added to them. And they continued steadfastly 00:47:00.420 --> 00:47:03.199 in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and 00:47:03.199 --> 00:47:08.260 in breaking of bread and in prayers. Says, then 00:47:08.260 --> 00:47:13.260 fear came upon every soul and many signs and 00:47:13.260 --> 00:47:17.380 wonders were done through the apostles. Now all 00:47:17.380 --> 00:47:20.420 who believed were together and had all things 00:47:20.420 --> 00:47:26.000 in common and sold their possessions and goods 00:47:26.000 --> 00:47:31.840 and divided them among all and everyone as anyone 00:47:31.840 --> 00:47:36.579 had need. So continuing daily with one. In one 00:47:36.579 --> 00:47:39.539 accord in the temple and breaking bread from 00:47:39.539 --> 00:47:43.000 house to house, they eat their food with gladness 00:47:43.000 --> 00:47:46.199 and simplicity of heart, praising God and having 00:47:46.199 --> 00:47:50.139 favor with all men. And the Lord added to the 00:47:50.139 --> 00:47:54.639 church daily those who are being saved. Praise 00:47:54.639 --> 00:47:57.179 God. And the Lord added to the... And what I 00:47:57.179 --> 00:47:58.980 want us to see is the fact that the believers 00:47:58.980 --> 00:48:01.780 were saved and what they go to do is we see them 00:48:01.780 --> 00:48:05.099 taking up the responsibility and... Meeting the 00:48:05.099 --> 00:48:08.079 needs of others and serving others, right? They 00:48:08.079 --> 00:48:12.000 were saved and then all of them, it didn't say 00:48:12.000 --> 00:48:14.320 some of them. It didn't specify that this person 00:48:14.320 --> 00:48:16.599 did it, that person did not do it. All of them 00:48:16.599 --> 00:48:19.840 were responsible and were doing the work of ministry. 00:48:20.119 --> 00:48:22.559 And we see that these individuals went on to 00:48:22.559 --> 00:48:25.139 serve. It's from this group of people that we 00:48:25.139 --> 00:48:27.360 see people like Philip, people like Stephen. 00:48:27.440 --> 00:48:31.539 The church kept on growing as a result of believers 00:48:31.539 --> 00:48:35.420 coming in to save. coming into service, and doing 00:48:35.420 --> 00:48:37.539 the work of ministry, and then the church expands 00:48:37.539 --> 00:48:39.960 that way. And I'm bringing it down to the church 00:48:39.960 --> 00:48:42.719 of NECF. The way we can grow and grow more effectively 00:48:42.719 --> 00:48:48.079 is by not just, like you don't just come to church, 00:48:48.179 --> 00:48:52.699 but you take the responsibility of ensuring that 00:48:52.699 --> 00:48:57.880 you look out for other believers. And you can 00:48:57.880 --> 00:49:01.340 go out and preach, but the work is in discipling. 00:49:02.730 --> 00:49:05.210 You can get someone saved, but the responsibility 00:49:05.210 --> 00:49:08.230 there, you know, when you do that, that's one 00:49:08.230 --> 00:49:11.329 phase. The phase that continues is that responsibility 00:49:11.329 --> 00:49:14.289 of ensuring that they grow. You teach them to 00:49:14.289 --> 00:49:16.489 the point where they can do the same for others. 00:49:16.730 --> 00:49:20.329 Praise God. And our responsibility is to preach 00:49:20.329 --> 00:49:25.090 so that men will be saved. And the gospel is 00:49:25.090 --> 00:49:28.090 the only way. Preaching the gospel is how men 00:49:28.090 --> 00:49:31.909 get saved. And if we are not trained to do so, 00:49:31.929 --> 00:49:34.679 if we don't, Our tie is doing so. I'll just close 00:49:34.679 --> 00:49:39.519 like this. In our cell units, I think on Friday, 00:49:39.760 --> 00:49:41.599 I think I was just, we're just going and I said, 00:49:41.679 --> 00:49:43.860 we have to, because we already, we know they 00:49:43.860 --> 00:49:45.519 say going from house to house. We're already 00:49:45.519 --> 00:49:48.980 in a region where houses are around. Nothing 00:49:48.980 --> 00:49:53.219 stops us from going and asking, are we okay? 00:49:53.699 --> 00:49:56.059 Because there are a lot of people, there are 00:49:56.059 --> 00:49:58.320 a lot of people that need to hear the gospel. 00:49:58.579 --> 00:50:00.800 In fact, you have friends that you've never spoken 00:50:00.800 --> 00:50:03.599 to about. about the gospel. And it's something 00:50:03.599 --> 00:50:07.320 that we should prioritize. It's important to 00:50:07.320 --> 00:50:09.139 God. It should be important to us. Praise God. 00:50:09.460 --> 00:50:11.800 I want us to declare these words as we close. 00:50:12.039 --> 00:50:17.099 See, I am a minister. I am a minister. I am serving 00:50:17.099 --> 00:50:20.599 in the Church of NACF. And if you're not serving, 00:50:20.679 --> 00:50:23.019 you should. I'm serving the Church of NACF. I 00:50:23.019 --> 00:50:29.039 am receiving training faithfully. And I am training 00:50:29.039 --> 00:50:36.329 others. I diligently seek opportunities to grow 00:50:36.329 --> 00:50:39.889 in the knowledge of God. I am not afraid to preach 00:50:39.889 --> 00:50:44.670 the gospel that gets an unbeliever saved. I am 00:50:44.670 --> 00:50:48.989 patient with the unbeliever and get them saved 00:50:48.989 --> 00:50:53.809 and see them grow. I am patient with the unbeliever. 00:50:53.829 --> 00:50:55.550 Some of us are very impatient. I am patient with 00:50:55.550 --> 00:51:00.389 the unbeliever to get them saved. and see them 00:51:00.389 --> 00:51:04.630 grow. I want us to just pray and just say, Father, 00:51:04.630 --> 00:51:11.230 I thank you because I am a minister. We're thankful 00:51:11.230 --> 00:51:14.869 you joined us today. Don't forget to subscribe 00:51:14.869 --> 00:51:17.869 so you're always connected to our latest sermons. 00:51:18.590 --> 00:51:21.889 You can also explore more about NECF on our website 00:51:21.889 --> 00:51:25.670 or follow us online. We look forward to having 00:51:25.670 --> 00:51:28.110 you with us next time. God bless.